Originally called "ship's bisket" it was the staple for food onboard a ship at the time. It could stay usable for years. Basically, just very hard, dry and dense crackers. They were not eaten straight usually but used as an ingredient for other dishes(or dunked in a liquid such as coffee, tea or rum).

But does he have a wizarding hat?

He never got the letter.

It matches the Airlines game's colors right behind him. Did he do that on purpose? Did it come with the game?

Yeah. It fits. Tight, though.

Agree - I was able to get it all in there.

But! Did you sleeve the cards?

I got it for $40 yesterday through an online store on BGG. Also includes the white wale promo.

Love Moby Dick! Both the Novel and both movies (didn't watched the third yet)

Just drop the quality down and it should be fine on your monitor.

Ya. The video was making me nauseous. It was like it was on fast forward. Very disorienting

it's a piece of American history. And I like that the game doesn't really glorify the whale hunting in any obvious way. The process is extremely abstracted and one could even make up something else. Maybe catching them for research and then letting them loose. I love animals and I am totally against the hunting or abuse of any specie, but the game feels very lighthearted and the mechanisms are really good. Don't let the Theme detract you from playing it.

Like Dennis Leary used to say in his act:"We need to boycott tuna until they figure out how to keep dolphins from getting caught in the net!""Wait, what about the tuna?""Oh, screw them. They taste good!";)

Haha, was thinking the same. He also said: "We should have an interview process for animals...Who are you?...I'm an otter....What do you do? I do cute human things with my hands....You are free to go....Who are you? A cow...GET IN THE TRUCK! You're not a cow you are a baseball glove." Lesson: We only want to save the cute ones.

Hahaha, that is true. #savethecuteanimals Yeah I'd play it, but my gaming group would be like noooo the poor whales!

George Morgan Oh, that is pure gold. But in all seriousness, I think the issue with whales is endangerment(?) Then again, humanity is kind of draining the oceans of all edible critters.

I understand its a major problem in many parts of the world, but I enjoy this theme becuase it allows me to reminisce of my breif and awful acting career in my 11th grade English live action "play" of Moby Dick lol.

I had a demo of this at Origins with me & the creator playing, & I loved it.

Fair enough. Nonetheless, it's better at higher player counts.

+TheGreatHamEl In your opinion of course. You make it sound like it's a global fact.

In some cases, it would be subjective. But due to the nature of the mechanisms, it is much less so in this particular case. The Kickstarter came with a two player card variant that works a little better. Have you played or are you being confrontational for the sake of being confrontational?

I've played it three times in the last couple of days and I think it works wonderful with two players. I love player interaction but I think with more than three, the game could feel quite chaotic and some people would feel like they would just be buying the buildings that their opponents would interested and not necessarily one's that you'd like. The whaling also feels like it's more fun with less players because with a high count, if you don't get started with the hunting early on, there's a good chance you'll get left out of the good stuff. I would definitely like to play it with the full compliment at some point though. However, I love it with two players and I fully recommend it.

Phillip Tran ( A ) its a realistic part of history and it is actually done in the game very well ( B ) they are cardboard pieces you are not actually whaling at any time ..really..( C ) I don't know how many people I run into who said they would not play this game because of the theme which is just stupid because they have no problem playing war games or games where you are killing and slaughtering people but Wales is where you draw the line??? ( D ) You shouldn't be offended at all if you truly do live in New Bedford it is a very large part of your towns history and an important one at that. If anything playing the game reminds you of that fact. It is done very tastefully beautiful artwork and a slight look back in time where the town is being built upon the resources of that time. ( E ) the next time you fire up Call of Duty keep telling yourself that it's only a video game and we will keep telling ourselves that this is only a board game nobody's actually getting hurt that's why they call them games. ( F ) I was just happy that somebody actually came out with a historical theme that had not been regurgitated for once. The bottom line is with any of these historical games you have to put yourself in the time and understand that people were at the mercy of any resource they could gather that would keep the town together. Nobody knew at that time that they would be hunting a creature to near extinction. What they did now is that they had families to feed and whaling was one of the main resources of the time. Not saying that it's right but the game tastefully captures this historical fact.

Pick a different game? Just a thought. Idiot.

Hiding in cyber space, in the dark, feeling safe and brave, you allow your mouth to spew feces at strangers. Not one of your best thoughts. Just saying. Cretino.

That seal game sounds fun. Have you played 'Josef Mengele the Misunderstood Physician?' It's not bad simple resource management.

That second game already exists. It’s called Puerto Rico.

Speaking of Lincoln getting shot, in Fall of 2020 (4 years after this review) there is a Kickstarter game about said trial-"Unforgiven: The Lincoln Assassination Trial" which "is a 2-player card and dice development game about passion and justice that revisits the 1865 trial of Mary Surratt, one of eight put on trial for conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln and other members of his cabinet." Not sure this is a tasteless theme. Like New Bedford, it's a historical theme.

I feel like the entry fee should be higher than one coin. I wouldn't mind being blocked for my building for the duration of the round, for say... $2 But just getting one coin feels like a slap in the face. That's one of the reasons why I feel like playing with the full player count wouldn't be so much fun. I get this feeling that you'd be building the things that are other players are looking for the whole game.

Other games do this better, Caylus, Praetor, Keyflower, Lords of Waterdeep, and Le Harve. I would be surprised if Tom hasn't played any of these games, hence why it seems strange that he thinks this is intriguing.

The designers live/lived in the region of the the US that this took place. Whaling was an important step in the industrialization of our country. Oil powered it's progress. It's not weird, strange or creepy. It historic. One of the most iconic pieces of American literature was inspired by the whaling industry. Ever heard of Moby Dick ?

No way, this is a great theme! Just because the industry isn't relevant anymore doesn't mean it is weird. Read Moby Dick and tell me this theme is weird!

I'm always puzzled why people like you think they can decide what designers should do. This is what is truly creepy, but not using very original underused historical themes for boardgames.

The designer and publisher have both gone on record addressing the sensitivity of the theme and saying that they do not in any way condone whaling or how it was done, etc. And I have yet to hear anyone that has played the game say that it really made them feel like a whale hunter.

He is not deciding what designers should do, he is making a point that they find it off putting, which it is for some people. The theme of this game doesn't add anything to the experience, it is a very typical WP and not doing anything new.